Today, the S&P 500 is poised set its all-time closing high despite the bad apple.

The bad apple, in this case, is Apple Inc., the tech behemoth whose shares have been tanking since September. When the Dow Jones Industrial was first striking its record highs in early March, the gap between the two majors could be boiled down to the one stock. As we wrote back then:

Since the Cupertino juggernaut hit its record high of $702 on Sept. 19, it’s been nothing but downhill for the stock, off about 39% since then. For the S&P 500, since Sept. 19 through today’s close, the index was up 5.4%. Putting it at 1540. But, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, if Apple was excluded from the index, it would be up 7.7% in that time frame – putting it at roughly 1573.

That would be a new record.

If the boys from Cupertino weren’t part of the S&P 500, the index would be up 9.2% since Apple hit its high just over $700 back in September, as of Wednesday’s close. As it is, the index is up about 7% since then, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Ultimately, of course, even Apple’s travails weren’t enough to derail the index. If the S&P 500 set its all-time closing high today, it will join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Dow Jones Transportation Average, the Russell 2000, and the Wilshire 5000 in record territory.

But in general, of course, Apple’s been a modest positive for the index. Since the low of March 9, 2009, the S&P 500 is up about 131%. If Apple weren’t part of the index, the S&P 500 would be up 127%, according to S&P.

Don’t cry for Apple shareholders, though. From the 2009 lows, when Apple was around $122, the is still up a heady 264%. Somewhere, too, we’re sure there’s somebody who is the very definition of smart money, somebody who got in during those dark days of 2009 and sold Apple at its very peak.

That smartie netted a cool 475% return.

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